O Little Town Of Atlantis
by firefly827347
Summary: After a run in with a large plant, John Sheppard is reminded of the joys of Christmas, and decides to celebrate with the rest of his team.
1. Chapter 1

_This is a story I started on Christmas Day believe it or not, but only just got around to posting. It's still not finished and at the rate I'm going probably won't be finished until next Christmas, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. It's good to be writing again! Reviews are much appreciated and I always reply to the ones with email addresses. Hope you enjoy!_

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It was only after John Sheppard hit the tree that it came to him. They'd been doing a routine recon on yet another glorious Pegasus galaxy getaway, when he'd turned around to argue with McKay about something. Not looking where he was going, he walked straight into it. It was a huge tree, and he had no idea how he could possibly have missed it, but as he lay on the ground, staring up through the branches at the sky and contemplating whether he would ever regain his dignity, he noticed it. 

"McKay." He called wearily to the only other Earth-born member of his team.

Rodney, who was almost crying with laughter, tried to compose himself for a moment to listen to the Colonel.

"Mmm?" He asked, wondering whether shoving his fist into his mouth would be an effective way to stop his hysterical convulsions.

"Does that look like mistletoe to you?"

"Mistletoe?" McKay enquired.

"Yes." Sheppard replied, managing to sit up. "Mistletoe." Ronon stooped down to help Sheppard to his feet, which only made the Colonel feel more humiliated. McKay took a few steps forward and followed John's gaze to the white-berried plant that was curled around one of the tree's branches.

"I suppose it does rather." The scientist said, trying to suppress another chuckle.

Teyla stepped forward and tried to take a look at the Colonel's head. "Are you alright, John?" She asked, frowning with concern. She had found the incident amusing, but the amount of time that Sheppard had remained on the ground made her suspect he could be concussed.

"I'm fine." He said, swatting her hand away playfully and smiling. He'd survived bullet-wounds and wraith-feedings. He was damned if he was going to let anyone fuss over the fact that he'd walked into an overgrown plant.

"Shall we return to Atlantis now?" Teyla asked, unconvinced by the Colonel's performance.

"Sure. Why not? I think we've seen all we need to see here." John replied, brushing the dirt off the shoulders of his flak vest. McKay snorted and headed for the gate, followed by a grinning Ronon. Teyla hung back and helped John get the rest of the dirt off his vest. Perhaps with the others out of earshot, he would be more forthcoming.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She asked, frowning again. It wouldn't be the first time he'd lied to her about his wellbeing.

"Look, by the end of the day, I'll have a bruise the size of the mainland on my head, but that's it." He replied irritably. She put her hands on her hips and just looked at him.

"Fine." He said, slumping his shoulders in defeat. "I'll go and see Beckett when we get back."

She smiled in satisfaction and held out her arm.

"No." He stated.

"You may become dizzy on our return to the stargate. We would not want you to fall over again now, would we?" She smiled and placed her hand on his arm to steady him. He gave her a disgruntled look and said nothing. He didn't want to admit that she was right.

"Damn trees." He muttered as they neared the gate. He could see that Rodney was dialling the address. "Why couldn't Ronon have lost his dignity for a change?" He asked no one in particular. Teyla did not answer, but merely smiled as the wormhole connected and her other two team mates stepped through.

"Damn trees." John muttered again as they stepped through the event horizon.


	2. Chapter 2

"You done yet?" Sheppard grumbled, as Carson clicked off his penlight.

"Well, you have no obvious signs of a concussion. Other than that bruise, I think you'll be fine. I suggest you take it easy over the next few days." He gestured to the rather large area of blue and purple forming on the Colonel's forehead.

John gave him a disgusted look. "Can I go now?"

Carson placed his hands on his hips as Teyla had done not half an hour before, and raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose so." John didn't need telling twice. He jumped off the bed and headed swiftly for the door.

"And try not to walk into anymore trees!" The doctor called after him, chuckling. John ignored him. He'd endured much worse from a certain Canadian physicist on the way to the infirmary.

He rounded a corner to find Teyla waiting for him.

"Are you alright, Colonel?" She said as he approached.

"Fit as a fiddle." He replied cheerfully, glad to finally be out of the clutches of the infirmary. She blinked at him, and he realised his mistake. Metaphors weren't very effective around Teyla and Ronon.

"Doc says I'm fine." He decided to leave out the 'take it easy' part.

"I am glad to hear it." They walked in silence for a while. Finally, she glanced at him.

"There is something I wanted to ask." She said.

"Shoot." He replied.

"What is this 'mistletoe' you were referring to back on the planet?"

"Oh, that." He replied. "It's just an Earth tradition. It's a plant you hang up at Christmas. People…kiss under it."

"I see." She answered, not really seeing. Some Earth traditions were strange to her, but she supposed that Athosian traditions were just as strange to the people of Earth.

"How's the head, sir?" A voice came from behind them. They turned around and saw Sheppard's second-in-command jogging to catch up with them.

"Good afternoon, Major Lorne." Teyla said. Lorne nodded his head in greeting.

"I'm fine, thank you Major." John said, smiling at his second in command. He narrowed his eyes suddenly. "How did you know about that?"

Lorne coughed once. "Um." He began. "Doctor McKay may have mentioned something at lunch."

"Oh." John said, in a falsely cheerful voice. "Great. That means the whole of Atlantis will know by dinner."

Evan smiled. "I suppose so, sir."

The trio continued walking through the hallways until John stopped suddenly. The others turned to face him.

"I just remembered something." He said, grinning. "I had an idea right after I walked into the tree."

Lorne snorted, and struggled to hide it behind a cough.

"It's Christmas in a few weeks, right Major?"

"Right, sir." Lorne replied.

"Well, we've been so stressed out lately, I thought we could decorate the place a bit, maybe have a bit of a party. Surprise everyone, even Weir. Christmas lunch, crackers, tinsel, fairy lights…"

Lorne blinked at him. "This came to you after you… walked into a tree, sir?"

"Well, there was some sort of mistletoe…plant…thing in it." Sheppard replied, frowning at his own logic.

"Oh, right."

"And I was also thinking we could get a Christmas tree, a huge one to go in the gateroom somewhere.

The Major snorted again.

"What?"

Lorne tried to straighten his face. "Tree, sir…" Sheppard rolled his eyes.

"I think it is a wonderful idea." Teyla added quickly.

"Sure." Lorne added. "Sounds good, sir. But where are we gonna get all the stuff?"

Sheppard thought for a moment. "What say you and I put in a request for some temporary leave? I know I'm due some."

"Me too, sir. But should we really leave Atlantis at the same time? What if there's an emergency?" Lorne asked, wondering if his CO had actually flipped this time. Sheppard would never normally have suggested something like that.

Sheppard folded his arms and gave him a 'do I have to think of _everything_?' look.

"What do you think we've got Caldwell for?"

"Uh…Colonel Caldwell and the Daedalus are already on their way back to Earth, sir." Lorne pointed out. "It'll probably be Christmas by the time they return."

"Oh. Yeah, right. I forgot about that." Sheppard replied, slumping his shoulders. "Well, I'll find someone. And I was thinking of using the intergalactic gate network thing with a Jumper to get the stuff back to Atlantis."

Lorne stared at him for a moment.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" He asked.

"Sure, go ahead."

"How the hell are you gonna fit a Christmas tree in a Puddle Jumper?"

John unfolded his arms and put his hands in his pockets. He looked at Teyla, and then at Lorne. He opened his mouth, and closed it again. Lorne waited patiently.

"Okay." Sheppard said. "New plan."


End file.
